Aug, 30, 2017

Walmart's ecommerce sales were up 60% in its most recent quarter, according to its earnings report in August. However, much of that growth is coming as a result of its acquisitions of Jet.com, and smaller etailers such as ModCloth, Moosejaw and ShoeBuy, not from purely organic growth as is the case with Amazon.

The Walmart news on the brick and mortar side was also positive, with same store US sales up a strong 1.8%, the 12th consecutive quarterly increase in that metric. But Walmart is finding like Amazon that it takes a ton of investment to drive that growth.

Supply Chain Digest Says...

Across all industries, especially long supply chains with product coming from Asia, blockchain may allow total cycle times to be reduced from increased visibility about where product movements are slowing.

The Wall Street Journal reports that over the past year Walmart has used automation to replace some jobs and laid off more than 1,000 corporate employees. But as usual, Walmart is also looking to vendors to help fund many of its investments by pressuring vendors to cut their prices, increasing the fees they pay to pass inventory through its distribution centers, and narrowing the shipping window vendors must hit to avoid fines.

Is there an opportunity for your company to use vendor performance management to deliver cash to fund omnichannel investments, as Walmart is doing? That is certainly worth a look.
Is Blockchain Tracking in Your Extended Supply Chain Future?

In late August, IBM announced 10 food industry companies had recently signed up with IBM to test the use of so-called blockchain technology for tracking the movement of food products across the global supply chain. The goal is to increase visibility and reduce risk.

Participants in the test include Nestle, Unilever, Kroger, McCormick & Company, Dole Foods, Golden State Foods, Driscoll's, distributor McLane, and Tyson Foods. They all join Walmart, which began a blockchain pilot with IBM last year.

Walmart has said that in the trials the time it took to trace the movement of mangoes fell to 2.2 seconds from about seven days without blockchain. It added that a single product recall could cost anything from tens of thousands to millions of dollars in lost sales - a risk block chain may be able to reduce through better visibility and awareness of emerging supply chain issues. The scale of a given recall might also be reduced from the improved visibility and traceability.

A blockchain is a data structure that makes it possible to create a digital ledger of transactions and share it among a distributed network of users. It uses cryptography to allow each participant on the network to update the ledger in a secure way without the need for a central managing authority, even across disparate companies.

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Once a block of data is recorded on the blockchain ledger, it's extremely difficult to change or remove. When someone wants to add to it, participants in the network - all of which have copies of the existing blockchain - run special algorithms to evaluate and verify the proposed transaction. If a majority of nodes agree that the transaction looks valid - for example, that identifying information matches the blockchain's history - then the new transaction will be approved and a new block added to the chain.
So in a blockchain network, all participants - vendors, transportation providers, ports, etc. - update information on the movement of goods all the way to final destination, providing end-end-end visibility, though of course each entity has to agree to participate.

While the safety and recall aspect makes the food industry especially ripe (pun intended) for use of blockchain, other sectors could also benefit. For example, in the apparel industry, blockchain could be used to better track the actual supply of garments to ensure only authorized/approved vendors were used - a huge problem in the industry.

Across all industries, especially long supply chains with product coming from Asia, blockchain may allow total cycle times to be reduced from increased visibility about where product movements are slowing.

Robotic Sewing Coming to Arkansas - and Maybe Your Vendor List

Chinese clothing manufacturer Tianyuan Garments Company announced in late August that it will open a new garment factory in Arkansas next year, which will run primarily with the use of autonomous robots and a few human supervisors.

Once factory operations are in full swing, the 21 production lines are expected to produce 1.2 million T-shirts annually, at a total production cost that's competitive with apparel companies using low-wage countries to manufacture garments, the company says. Tianyuan Garments Company is one of the first businesses to use the sewbots, which could advance apparel supply chains in coming years - and bring some manufacturing back on-shore.

Atlantas-based SoftWear Automation developed the sewbots that will be used in Tianyuan's new factory. In 2012, researchers received a grant from the Defense Department's technology innovation wing, DARPA, to work on the sewbot concept and form SoftWear Automation. Two years ago, SoftWear Automation began selling sewbots that could help produce bath mats and towels. The company's newest robot models will be deployed in the new factory and have the capability of making many apparel items, including T-shirts and jeans.

Computer vision is the key technology behind the sewbots, used to analyze and watch fabric so the fabric can be advanced through the sewing process efficiently and with quality.

For now at least, the robots are best used for simple garments, with humans still needed to stitch more complex goods. But this is something to keep an eye on for sure.

Your Comments/Feedback

Srihari

Senior Consultant, Infosys

Posted on: May, 22 2016

Great article. I am a little suprised not to see BNSF in the mix while I understand their financial mode/operation is a little different.

That would only give a complete perspective with all the players in the pool.

Mike O'Brien

Senior editor, Access Intelligence

Posted on: May, 26 2016

Surprised to see Home Depot fall off the list; thought they were winning with Sync?

Julie Leonard

Marketing Director, Inovity

Posted on: Jun, 27 2016

Using the right tool for the right job has always been a best practice and one of the reasons, we feel, that RFID has never taken off in the DC as exponentially as pundits have been forecasting since 2006. While these results may seem surprising to those solely focused on barcode scanning, the adoption of multi-modal technologies in the DC makes perfect sense for greater worker efficiency and productivity.

Carsten Baumann

Strategic Alliance Manager, Schneider Electric

Posted on: Aug, 19 2016

The IoT Platform in this year's (2016) Hype Cycle is on the ascending side, entering the "Peak of Inflated Expectation" area. How does this compare to the IoT positions of the previous years, which have already peaked in 2015? Isn't this contradicting in itself?

Editor's Note:

You are right, Internet of Things (IoT) was at the top of the Garter new technology hype curve not long ago. As you noted, however, this time the placement was for “IoT Platforms,” a category of software tools from a good number of vendors to manage connectivity, data communications and more with IoT-enabled devices in the field.

So, this is different fro IoT generally, though a company deploying connected things obviously needs some kind of platform – hoe grown or acquired – to manage those functions.

Jo Ann Tudtud-Navalta

I have always lived by "put it in writing" all my work life. I am a firm believer of the many benefits of putting everything in writing and I try to teach it to as many people as I can.

This "putting in writing" can also be used for almost anything else. Here are some general benefits (only some) of "putting in writing":

1. Everything is better understood between parties involved. There are lots of people types who need something visual to improve their understanding.
2. Everyone can read to review and correct anything misunderstood. This will ensure that all parties concerned confirm the details of the agreements as correct. This is further enhanced by having all parties involved sign off on a hard copy or confirm via reply email.
3. Everything has a proof. Not to belittle the element of trust among parties involved, it is always safest to have tangible proof of what was agreed on.
4. There will be a document to refer to at any time by any one who needs clarification.
5. The documentation can be useful historical data for any future endeavor. It provides inputs for better decisions on related situations in the future.
6. This can also be compiled and used to teach future new team members. "Learn from the past" it is said.

There are many more benefits. Mr. Schneider is very correct about his call to "put it in writing".

Sandy Montalbano

Consultant, Reshoring Initiative

Posted on: Aug, 24 2016

U.S. companies are reshoring and foreign companies are investing in U.S. locations to be in close proximity to the U.S. market for customer responsiveness, flexibility, quality control, and for the positive branding of "Made in USA".

Reshoring including FDI balanced offshoring in 2015 as it did in 2014. In comparison, in 2000-2007 the U.S. lost net about 200,000 manufacturing jobs per year to offshoring. That is huge progress to celebrate!

The Reshoring Initiative Can Help. In order to help companies decide objectively to reshore manufacturing back to the U.S. or offshore, the nonprofit Reshoring Initiative's free Total Cost of Ownership Estimator can help corporations calculate the real P&L impact of reshoring or offshoring. http://www.reshorenow.org/TCO_Estimator.cfm

Robert

Transportation Manager, N/A

Posted on: Aug, 30 2016

Good article! I am sending this to my colleagues who work with me. We have to keep this in mind. Thanks!

Ian Jansen

Mr, NHLS

Posted on: Sep, 14 2016

SCM is all about getting the order delivered to the Customer on date/ time requested because happy Customers = Revenue. Using the right tools to do the right job is important and SCM is heavily dependent on sophisticated ERP systems to get right real data info ASP.

I've worked in a DC with more than 400,000 line items and measured the Productivity of Pickers by how many "picks" per day.

I've learned that one doesn't have to remind Germany about your EDI orders.

Don Benson

Partner, Warehouse Coach

Posted on: Sep, 15 2016

Challenge - to build and sustain effective relationships at the level of the organizations that are responsible for effectively coordinating and colaborating in an otherwise highly competitive environment

Jade

Admin, Fulfillment Logistics UK Ltd

Posted on: Oct, 02 2016

Of course we all need to up our game. We need to move with the times, and always be one step ahead of what the future will bring.

Mike Dargis

President of asset-based carrier based in the Midwest, Zip Xpress Inc. (at ZipXpress.net)

Posted on: Oct, 03 2016

Thanks for the article, but I know there's a lot more to this issue than just the pay rates. Please check out my blogs on the subject at www.zipxpress.net.

Blaine

Inventory Specialist, Syncron

Posted on: Nov, 16 2016

Lora, great article! I agree that companies choose the 'safe' solution more often than not. My solution is a bolt-on for legacy ERP's and we even face challeneges of customer adoption. Most like to play it safe and choose an ERP upgrade, which is more costly, time consuming, and has lower ROI across the board. Would love to learn more about your company, we are always looking for partnerships.

Blaine
blaine.schultz@syncron.com

Bob McIntyre

National Account Executive, DBK Concepts LLC

Posted on: Nov, 21 2016

This is a game changer in GE's production and prototyping. It also has huge implications across the GE global supply chain with regard to the management of their support and spare parts network.

Kai Furmans

Professor, KIT

Posted on: May, 22 2017

I am referencing to the comment that leasing of warehousing equipment (beyond forklift trucks) is a vision for 2030.
Just recently in Europe, such a business model has started, see here: https://next-intralogistics.de/

I am following with a lot of interest, how the business develops.

Stuart Rosenberg

Supply Chain Consultant, First Choice Supply Chain

Posted on: Jun, 05 2017

If we limit the standard on judging or determining the best supply chain to just three calculations it does not tell the entire picture. Financial performance metrics are valuable as they capture the economic consequences of business decisions. But supply chain managers make decsions and use organizational resources that impact a company's financial well being. Where is a firm's earnings over a period of time determined by sales less product costs and general/adminsitrative costs? Where is the metric for determining the sources and uses of cash from three perspectives - operational, investment and financial? Where are these supply chain metrics: on-time delivery, lead time, response time to customers, product returns, procurement costs, network distance, inventory carrying costs, forecasting accuracy, sourcing time, etc,. Without knowing the results of all these supply chain calculations the there must be a question as to the accuracy of the 25 top supply chains.

Dustin Calitz

Project Commercialization Manager, Mondelez

Posted on: Jun, 06 2017

I feel this ranking misses the mark in SC. It does not seem to consider a key indicator in days inventory on hand, which is key to determining a SC company's ability to forecast, manage inventory costs and reduce aged stock. In additiion I realize it's difficult to understand what goes into the customer survey, but would I assume specific metrics are being asked. For examples customer's opinion on service level differentiation and the ability to deliver the right product on time, which should then be allocated a bigger weighting than 10%. It would also be interesting to take a view of the above list's SKU portfolio complexity, seasonality and launches/promotions. I would again assume some companies on the list above have a far more complex SC to manage and lead, ultimately requiring a lot more innovation within a SC to stay ahead of competitors, and ultimately satisfy their customers demands. I understand above metrics are difficult to measure, as mentioned in the article, but they somehow need to be considered to give a true reflection.

Michael Hurd

Lean Consultant, Unemployed

Posted on: Jun, 10 2017

A Very Good Article...

While some feel that lean is a scam that pushes for more out of the personnel and out of the companies through reduction of waste and adding value for the customer, there are several things to remember:

1) Lean methodologies are designed and implemented to reduce time wasting, so this may seem that you are working harder as an employee.

2) Lean methdoligies only work when everyone from the janitor to the owner of the company get involved and back the program.

3) Lean methods are there to make you work smarter not harder, although it may feel you are working harder.

4) YES... Sometimes lean methodologies fail! This is due to project overun or taking on too large a problem and trying to fix it all in one go and not taking the smaller problems that are associated with the large problem and fixing them first. Sometimes fixing the small problems leads to resolution of the larger problem.

Akhil

Director Supply Chain , skuchain

Posted on: Jul, 31 2017

The Supply Chain technology is not considered a problem because traditionally supply chains are thought to be cost centres unlike sales functions. The tendency, in general, to limit expenses and cost cutting on upgrades for technology and for talent have been hindering progress for the businesses. Supply chains lack real time visbility and above all trust across the value chain (not that the participants are dishonest) rather it's about the cascading effects referred to as the bull-whip effect which causes higher magnitudes of disruptions.

Supply chain real time information should top the list .

Another problem is that of multi homing as so much data is available across several feeds of IOT/Email/Internet /Mobility/ERP that organisations tend to have issues around finding a single platform to collate them for meaning analysis.

Blockchain (if deployed appropriately) can be a great solution for solving the issues around the supply chain.

Mike Ledyard

Vested Program Faculty, Vested Way / University ofTennessee

Posted on: Aug, 04 2017

Excellent article. It very much points to the need for Shared Risk / Shared Reward as we teach at Vested. Suppliers will respond when they are made part of the team, and they have a lot to bring to the game. The service provider is the subject matter expert in the services provided, and in an excellent position to enhance the capabilities and services offered by the shipper.

Andrew Downard

Managing Director, AD Supply Chain Group Pty Ltd

Posted on: Aug, 05 2017

As the article points out it is not a lack of technology that is holding back performance but rather a failure to form the right sort of relationships. As well as the length of such relatiohships, practitioners should consider employing arrangements that incentivise both parties to innovate and deliver levels of performance and profit that neither thought possible. By far the best model I have come across to achieve this is the Vested Outsourcing model developed by researchers from the University of Tennessee. See www.vestedway.com for information on the model and case studies that show how others have benefited from creating a Vested deal.

Najma

logistics, threelineshipping

Posted on: Aug, 23 2017

Very informational article. The major focus of logistics is on e-commerce. There is a need to optimize every component of logistics by following the latest trends and technologies. Thanks for uploading this article.